Best Places to Eat

¨ Le Musée (p403)

¨ Café Saint Régis (p376)

¨ Restaurant Le Pim’pi (p411)

¨ Le Genty-Magre (p413)

¨ Le Café des Épices (p417)

Best Places for History

¨ Grotte de Lascaux (p407)

¨ D-Day beaches (p387)

¨ The Somme (p384)

¨ Pont du Gard (p415)

¨ Musée Carnavalet (p372)

When to Go

Dec–Mar Christ-mas markets in Alsace, snow action in the Alps and truffles in the south.

Apr–Jun France is at its springtime best, with good weather and no crowds.

Sep Cooling temperatures, abundant local produce and the vendange (grape harvest).

F DNOSAJJMAMJ

Paris°C/°F Temp Rainfall Inches/mm

0

5/125

6/150

2/50

3/75

4/100

1/25

10/50

0/32

-10/14

30/86

40/104

20/68

FranceWhy Go?France has so much to entice travellers – renowned gas-tronomy, iconic sights, splendid art heritage, a fabulous outdoors. You could sample it all in a week, but you’ll in-variably feel as though you’ve only scratched the surface of this big country.

Visiting France is certainly about seeing the big sights, but it’s just as much about savouring life’s little pleasures: a stroll through an elegant city square, a coffee on a sunny pavement terrace, a meal that lasts well into the afternoon or night, a scenic drive punctuated with photo stops and impromptu farm or vineyard visits. The French are big on their art de vivre (art of living) and you should embrace it, too.

Includes ¨Paris ...........................364Versailles .................... 382Giverny .......................383Lyon ............................400Chamonix ...................405Bordeaux ....................408Marseille..................... 416Nice .............................421Cannes ....................... 424St-Tropez .................... 425Monaco ......................426Bonifacio ....................430

©Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd

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France Highlights1 Gorge on the iconic sights and sophistication of europe’s most hopelessly romantic city, Paris (p364).

2 relive the French renaissance with extraordinary chateaux built by kings and queens in the Loire Valley (p395).

3 Do a Bond and swoosh down slopes in the shadow of Mont Blanc in Chamonix (p405).

4 Dodge tides, stroll moonlit sand and immerse yourself in legend at island abbey Mont St-Michel (p387).

5 Savour ancient ruins, modern art, markets, lavender and hilltop villages in slow-paced Provence (p415).

6 Taste bubbly in ancient caves (cellars) in Épernay (p391), the heart of Champagne.

7 Tuck into France’s halest piggy-driven cuisine in a traditional bouchon in Lyon (p400).

8 Hit the big time at Monaco’s sumptuous Casino de Monte Carlo (p427).